Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Posted without comment

4 comments:

I don't find it that surprising that he is an American citizen, but I do find it surprising that he was donating to McCain's campaign. Or perhaps I shouldn't? After all the values of China's ruling elite have more in common with the values of Western conservatives than they do with Western liberals.

The CCP is utterly anti-democratic, oligarchical, but also paradoxically populist. They may have a lot in common with Putin, and by extension perhaps populist movements like Chavez and his followers, but they have little or nothing in common with, say, the French Republicans, or the German Christian Democrats, or the UK Conservative Party, even if Conservative (and Social Democrat/'liberal') governments in Europe and North America seek closer economic co-operation with China.

Left wing and right wing populist nationalist parties (the SNP, Front National etc.) are the nearest analogue to be found in the 'West', but even there they are not really so close.

Obviously the CCP can't easily be placed on the right to left wing spectrum.

I obviously don't think it has much in common with established conservative parties in Europe or with the US Republicans.

All I was saying is that I don't find it surprising that someone like Eric X. Li would support the Republicans, if forced to take a stand on American politics. I think someone like him would have more in common with the Republicans than the Democrats. I am pretty sure he finds the idea of the unenmployed receiving benefits quite unconscionable. The concept of people having to depend on their own forces, without receiving handouts of any kind from the state, probably chimes with someone like him. He also probably believes in law and order, harsh sentencing for criminals, respect for authority, and is conservative on sexual issues (although perhaps he doesn't have a problem with abortion, if he supports China's family planning policies).